KSL.Com Classifieds

Sept. 8, 2000

The weekend is upon us, and that means many people will be checking out the classified ads in the newspaper.

But then again, classifieds are not just in the papers anymore. As News Specialist Keith McCord reports, they've gone high tech.

For many newspaper readers, part of the fun is thumbing through the classified ads. Fact is, the classifieds are a papers' most popular section!

But the "classifieds" are changing! They've gone the way so many other things have--on-line! And they're popular!

Trent Eyre/New Media Mgr., Newspaper Agency Corp.: "OUR SITE IN GENERAL, THE TRIBUNE AND THE DESERET NEWS WEBSITES GET BETWEEN 13-AND 15-MILLION HITS A MONTH. THE CLASSIFIED PORTION OF THAT GETS ALMOST 2-MILLION."

You can find classified ads all over the web-- major internet sites like Yahoo, Excite and Ebay display items from all over the world.

And now, even TV is getting in on the classified act! KSL started a classified section on its website about 3 weeks ago.

Russell Banz/KSL Internet Director.: "IT IS A LITTLE BIT OF A SHIFT FROM WHAT WE'VE DONE TYPICALLY ON AIR, BUT WE'RE HERE TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY AND I THINK THIS IS A NATURAL EXTENTION OF THAT."

Both KSL and the Newspaper Agency Corporation are quick to point out that all the classifieds listed in their on-line sites are entirely local.

BANZ:"I MEAN WE DON'T EVEN LET PEOPLE POST AN AD, UNLESS THEY'RE IN OUR MARKET AREA. WE DON'T ACCEPT ADS FROM VIRGINIA!"

On-line ads can also be jazzed up more than the old the newsprint version. Selling the boat? Attach a color picture to your ad.

Will high-tech classified ads make the old newspaper ads obsolete?

EYRE: "WHAT WE FIND IS THAT PEOPLE WHO USE THE CLASSIFIEDS IN PRINT ALSO USE IT ON-LINE. IT'S NOT NECESSARILY ONE OR THE OTHER. THEY VERY MUCH COMPLIMENT EACH OTHER."

On thing that hasn't changed-- the most popular items that are listed, whether they're in print or on line are automobiles!

On our site, we're seeing a some Utah flavor too--right now a lot of people have just harvested their gardens, and have lots of vegetables for sale!